System And Method For Controlling Ducted Air-Conditioning System

ABSTRACT

A system and a method for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system are provided. The system comprises: a temperature controller, configured to generate a first control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system; a mobile terminal, configured to generate a second control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system; and a conversion device, connected between the ducted air-conditioning system and the temperature controller, communicating with the mobile terminal via wireless communication, and configured to receive the first control instruction from the temperature controller, and transmit the first control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system, and to receive the second control instruction from the mobile terminal, convert the second control instruction into a third control instruction, and transmit the third control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to and benefits of Chinese Patent Application Serial No. 201510292676.7, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of P. R. China on Jun. 1, 2015, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a ducted air-conditioning system, and more particularly to a system and a method for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system.

BACKGROUND

The American ducted air-conditioning system is widely used in North America. The American ducted air-conditioning system generally comprises an external unit and an internal unit. In North America, the external unit is usually mounted outdoors while the internal unit is usually mounted in the basement. The cold air or hot air is delivered to respective rooms via an air duct, and the user may adjust the operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system by the temperature controller of the ducted air-conditioning system.

The conventional temperature controller, however, does not have the function of wireless communication, and therefore if the user needs to adjust the operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system, he or she has to first go to the room where the temperature controller is mounted, and then adjusts the operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system by operating the temperature controller. Although some new temperature controllers have the function of wireless communication, the costs of these new temperature controllers are usually very high and thus the cost of wireless controlling of the ducted air-conditioning system is very high.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure seek to solve at least one of the problems existing in the related art to at least some extent.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a system for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system is provided. The system comprises: a temperature controller, configured to generate a first control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system; a mobile terminal, configured to generate a second control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system; and a conversion device, connected between the ducted air-conditioning system and the temperature controller, communicating with the mobile terminal via wireless communication, and configured to receive the first control instruction from the temperature controller, and transmit the first control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system, and to receive the second control instruction from the mobile terminal, convert the second control instruction into a third control instruction, and transmit the third control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system.

With the system for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system, by providing the conversion device, the ducted air-conditioning system may be controlled by both the mobile terminal and the temperature controller, thus providing convenience for a user to control the ducted air-conditioning system, and also reducing a cost of wireless controlling of the ducted air-conditioning system.

In one embodiment, the conversion device comprises: a plurality of first wire terminals, each first wire terminal being connected with one of wire terminals of the ducted air-conditioning system; a plurality of second wire terminals, each second wire terminal being connected with one of wire terminals of the temperature controller; a monitoring module, connected with the plurality of second wire terminals and configured to monitor a state of each second wire terminal so as to receive the first control instruction; a wireless communication module, configured to receive the second control instruction; a transmission module, connected with the plurality of first wire terminals and configured to transmit the first control instruction or a third control instruction; and a control module, connected with the monitoring module, the wireless communication module and the transmission module respectively, and configured to control the transmission module to transmit the first control instruction when the monitoring module receives the first control instruction, to convert the second control instruction into the third control instruction when the wireless communication module receives the second control instruction, and to control the transmission module to transmit the third control instruction.

In one embodiment, the transmission module is further configured to detect a current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system, and the control module is further configured to control the wireless communication module to transmit a detection result from the transmission module to the mobile terminal. In one embodiment, the plurality of first wire terminals and the plurality of second wire terminals comprise C, R, G, and Y/W terminals respectively.

In one embodiment, the wireless communication module and the mobile terminal are communicated via Wifi, Bluetooth or ZigBee.

In one embodiment, the conversion device comprises a power supply module configured to convert a supply voltage supplied by the ducted air-conditioning system into an operating voltage compatible with the conversion device.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system is provided. The method comprises: generating by a temperature controller a first control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system; generating by a mobile terminal a second control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system; and receiving by a conversion device the first control instruction from the temperature controller and transmitting by the conversion device the first control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system, and receiving by the conversion device the second control instruction from the mobile terminal, converting by the conversion device the second control instruction into a third control instruction and transmitting by the conversion device the third control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system.

With the method for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system, by providing the conversion device, the ducted air-conditioning system may be controlled by both the mobile terminal and the temperature controller, thus providing convenience for a user to control the ducted air-conditioning system, and also reducing a cost of wireless controlling of the ducted air-conditioning system.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises detecting by the conversion device a current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system and transmitting by the conversion device a detection result to the mobile terminal.

In one embodiment, the conversion device and the mobile terminal are communicated via wireless communication.

In one embodiment, the conversion device and the mobile terminal are communicated via Wifi, Bluetooth or ZigBee.

In one embodiment, a power supply module in the conversion device converts a supply voltage supplied by the ducted air-conditioning system into an operating voltage compatible with the conversion device.

The above summary of the present disclosure is not intended to describe each disclosed embodiment or every implementation of the present disclosure. The Figures and the detailed description which follow more particularly exemplify illustrative embodiments.

Additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of present disclosure will be given in part in the following descriptions, become apparent in part from the following descriptions, or be learned from the practice of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following descriptions made with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a conversion device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing connections between wire terminals of the ducted air-conditioning system and a temperature controller and that of the conversion device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein with reference to drawings are explanatory, illustrative, and used to generally understand the present disclosure. The embodiments shall not be construed to limit the present disclosure. The same or similar elements and the elements having same or similar functions are denoted by like reference numerals throughout the descriptions.

A system for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system is provided according to one aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that the system is used for controlling an internal unit of the ducted air-conditioning system. Thus, the ducted air-conditioning systems mentioned below actually refers to the internal unit of the ducted air-conditioning system, unless otherwise specified. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 50 for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system 10 comprises: a temperature controller 20, a mobile terminal 30 and a conversion device 40.

The temperature controller 20 is configured to generate a first control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system 10. The mobile terminal 30 is configured to generate a second control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system 10. The conversion device 40 is connected between the ducted air-conditioning system 10 and the temperature controller 20, and communicates with the mobile terminal 30 via wireless communication. The conversion device 40 is configured to receive the first control instruction from the temperature controller 20, and transmit the first control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system 10, and to receive the second control instruction from the mobile terminal 30, convert the second control instruction into a third control instruction, and transmit the third control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system 10.

In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 30 includes, but is not limited to, a mobile phone or a tablet computer.

Specifically, the conversion device 40 and the mobile terminal 30 may communicate with each other via Wifi (Wireless Fidelity), Bluetooth or ZigBee.

An operating method of this system for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system is illustrated below by taking a smart mobile phone for example.

A control instruction for starting the ducted air-conditioning system 10 is input by a user to the mobile terminal 30, particularly, to a software running in the mobile terminal 30. The mobile terminal 30 transmits the control instruction for starting the ducted air-conditioning system 10 to the conversion device 40. The conversion device 40 receives the control instruction for starting the ducted air-conditioning system 10 and converts the control instruction for starting the ducted air-conditioning system 10 into a 24V start control instruction, and then transmits the 24V start control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system 10. The ducted air-conditioning system 10 is started according to the 24V start control instruction and enters an operating state.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the conversion device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the conversion device 40 may comprise: a plurality of first wire terminals 410, a plurality of second wire terminals 420, a monitoring module 430, a wireless communication module 440, a transmission module 450 and a control module 460.

Each first wire terminal 410 is connected with one of wire terminals of the ducted air-conditioning system 10, and each second wire terminal 420 is connected with one of wire terminals of the temperature controller 20. The monitoring module 430 is connected with the plurality of second wire terminals 420 and is configured to monitor a state of each second wire terminal 420 so as to receive the first control instruction. The wireless communication module 440 is configured to receive the second control instruction. The transmission module 450 is connected with the plurality of first wire terminals 410 and is configured to transmit the first control instruction or a third control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system 10. The control module 460 is connected with the monitoring module 430, the wireless communication module 440 and the transmission module 450 respectively, and is configured to control the transmission module 450 to transmit the first control instruction when the monitoring module 430 receives the first control instruction, to convert the second control instruction into the third control instruction when the wireless communication module 440 receives the second control instruction, and to control the transmission module 450 to transmit the third control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system 10.

In one embodiment, the transmission module 450 is further configured to detect a current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system 10, and the control module 460 is further configured to control the wireless communication module 440 to transmit a detection result (i.e., the current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system 10) to the mobile terminal 30.

Specifically, the control module 460 controls the transmission module 450 to transmit the first control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system 10 when the monitoring module 430 receives the first control instruction from the temperature controller 20, and the ducted air-conditioning system 10 adjusts an operating state thereof according to the first control instruction. The control module 460 controls the wireless communication module 440 to transmit a detection result (i.e., the current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system 10) to the mobile terminal 30, and the current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system 10 is displayed on an interface of the software running in the mobile terminal 30.

For example, the user sets a temperature of the ducted air-conditioning system 10 to 22° C. via the temperature controller 20. After the temperature of the ducted air-conditioning system 10 is set to 22° C. according to the control instruction from the temperature controller 20, the control module 460 controls the wireless communication module 440 to transmit the current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system 10 to the mobile terminal 30, and the information that “the ducted air-conditioning system 10 is currently operating at 22° C.” is displayed on the interface of the software. Once the user obtains the current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system 10, the user may further control the operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system 10 via the software.

In one embodiment, the conversion device 40 may comprise a power supply module (not shown in FIG. 2) configured to convert a supply voltage (such as 24V) supplied by the ducted air-conditioning system 10 into an operating voltage compatible with the conversion device 40. In one embodiment, the plurality of first wire terminals 410 and the plurality of second wire terminals 420 comprise C, R, and Y/W terminals respectively. FIG. 3 shows connections between wire terminals of the ducted air-conditioning system 10 and the temperature controller 20 and that of the conversion device 40 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the first wire terminals 410 (i.e., the C, R, Y/W terminals) of the conversion device 40 are connected to the C, R, G, Y/W terminals of the ducted air-conditioning system 10, and the second wire terminals 420 (i.e., the C, R, G, Y/W terminals) of the conversion device 40 are connected to the C, R, G, Y/W terminals of the temperature controller 20. The C, R terminals of the ducted air-conditioning system 10 supply power to the conversion device 40, and the C, R terminals of the conversion device 40 supply power to the temperature controller 20.

Specifically, if the monitoring module 430 monitors that there are G, Y/W signals transmitted from the temperature controller 20, the control module 460 receives a monitoring result of the G, Y/W signals from the monitoring module 430 and controls the transmission module 450 to transmit a corresponding control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system 10, and the ducted air-conditioning system 10 performs a corresponding operation according to the control instruction. Specifically, the conversion device 40 may obtain a fan compressor signal transmitted from the temperature controller 20 via the G wire terminal of the conversion device 40, and a compressor assistant electric heat signal transmitted from the temperature controller 20 via the Y/W wire terminal of the conversion device 40. The ducted air-conditioning system 10 may obtain the fan compressor signal transmitted from the conversion device 40 via the G wire terminal of the ducted air-conditioning system 10, and the compressor assistant electric heat signal transmitted from the conversion device 40 via the Y/W wire terminal of the ducted air-conditioning system 10. Besides, the control module 460 controls the wireless communication module 440 to transmit the monitoring result of the G, Y/W signals to the mobile terminal 30, and the software in the mobile terminal 30 displays the operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system 10.

With the system for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system, by providing the conversion device, the ducted air-conditioning system may be controlled by both the mobile terminal and the temperature controller, thus providing convenience for a user to control the ducted air-conditioning system, and also reducing a cost of wireless controlling of the ducted air-conditioning system.

A method for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system is provided according to another aspect of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the method comprises following steps.

At step 1, a temperature controller generates a first control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system.

At step 2, a mobile terminal generates a second control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system.

At step 3, a conversion device receives the first control instruction from the temperature controller and transmits the first control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system, and receives the second control instruction from the mobile terminal, converts the second control instruction into a third control instruction and transmits the third control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system.

It should be noted that step 1 and step 2 may occur simultaneously or successively, or even only one of them occurs in some case. Therefore, the numbers 1 and 2 do not indicate the sequence of the steps.

In one embodiment, the conversion device and the mobile terminal may communicate with each other via wireless communication. Specifically, the conversion device and the mobile terminal may communicate with each other via Wifi, Bluetooth or ZigBee.

In some embodiments, the mobile terminal 30 includes, but is not limited to, a mobile phone or a tablet computer.

The method for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system is illustrated below by taking a smart mobile phone for example.

A control instruction for starting the ducted air-conditioning system is input by a user to the mobile terminal, particularly, to a software running in the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal transmits the control instruction for starting the ducted air-conditioning system to the conversion device. The conversion device receives the control instruction for starting the ducted air-conditioning system and converts the control instruction for starting the ducted air-conditioning system into a 24V start control instruction, and then transmits the 24V start control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system. The ducted air-conditioning system is started according to the 24V start control instruction and enters an operating state.

In one embodiment, the conversion device may detect a current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system and transmit a detection result to the mobile terminal. Specifically, the conversion device transmits the first control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system when receiving the first control instruction from the temperature controller, and the ducted air-conditioning system adjusts an operating state thereof according to the first control instruction. The conversion device transmits a detection result (i.e., the current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system) to the mobile terminal, and the current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system is displayed on an interface of the software running in the mobile terminal.

For example, the user sets a temperature of the ducted air-conditioning system to 22° C. via the temperature controller. After the temperature of the ducted air-conditioning system is set to 22° C. according to the control instruction from the temperature controller, the conversion device transmits the current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system to the mobile terminal, and the information that “the ducted air-conditioning system is currently operating at 22° C.” is displayed on the interface of the software. Once the user obtains the current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system, the user may further control the operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system via the software.

In one embodiment, a power supply module in the conversion device 40 may convert a supply voltage (such as 24V) supplied by the ducted air-conditioning system into an operating voltage compatible with the conversion device.

With the method for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system, by providing the conversion device, the ducted air-conditioning system may be controlled by both the mobile terminal and the temperature controller, thus providing convenience for a user to control the ducted air-conditioning system, and also reducing a cost of wireless controlling of the ducted air-conditioning system.

Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “one embodiment”, “another example,” “an example,” “a specific example,” or “some examples,” means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Thus, the appearances of the phrases such as “in some embodiments,” “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, “in another example,” “in an example,” “in a specific example,” or “in some examples,” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

In addition, terms such as “first” and “second” are used herein for purposes of description and are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance or significance or to imply the number of indicated technical features. Thus, the feature defined with “first” and “second” may comprise one or more of this feature. In the description of the present invention, “a plurality of” means two or more than two, unless specified otherwise.

Any process or method described in a flow chart or described herein in other ways may be understood to include one or more modules, segments or portions of codes of executable instructions for achieving specific logical functions or steps in the process, and the scope of a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure includes other implementations, which should be understood by those skilled in the art.

The logic and/or step described in other manners herein or shown in the flow chart, for example, a particular sequence table of executable instructions for realizing the logical function, may be specifically achieved in any computer readable medium to be used by the instruction execution system, device or equipment (such as the system based on computers, the system comprising processors or other systems capable of obtaining the instruction from the instruction execution system, device and equipment and executing the instruction), or to be used in combination with the instruction execution system, device and equipment. As to the specification, “the computer readable medium” may be any device adaptive for including, storing, communicating, propagating or transferring programs to be used by or in combination with the instruction execution system, device or equipment. More specific examples of the computer readable medium comprise but are not limited to: an electronic connection (an electronic device) with one or more wires, a portable computer enclosure (a magnetic device), a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or a flash memory), an optical fiber device and a portable compact disk read-only memory (CDROM). In addition, the computer readable medium may even be a paper or other appropriate medium capable of printing programs thereon, this is because, for example, the paper or other appropriate medium may be optically scanned and then edited, decrypted or processed with other appropriate methods when necessary to obtain the programs in an electric manner, and then the programs may be stored in the computer memories.

It should be understood that each part of the present disclosure may be realized by the hardware, software, firmware or their combination. In the above embodiments, a plurality of steps or methods may be realized by the software or firmware stored in the memory and executed by the appropriate instruction execution system. For example, if it is realized by the hardware, likewise in another embodiment, the steps or methods may be realized by one or a combination of the following techniques known in the art: a discrete logic circuit having a logic gate circuit for realizing a logic function of a data signal, an application-specific integrated circuit having an appropriate combination logic gate circuit, a programmable gate array (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.

Those skilled in the art shall understand that all or parts of the steps in the above exemplifying method of the present disclosure may be achieved by commanding the related hardware with programs. The programs may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and the programs comprise one or a combination of the steps in the method embodiments of the present disclosure when run on a computer.

In addition, each function cell of the embodiments of the present disclosure may be integrated in a processing module, or these cells may be separate physical existence, or two or more cells are integrated in a processing module. The integrated module may be realized in a form of hardware or in a form of software function modules. When the integrated module is realized in a form of software function module and is sold or used as a standalone product, the integrated module may be stored in a computer readable storage medium.

Although explanatory embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the above embodiments cannot be construed to limit the present disclosure, and changes, alternatives, and modifications can be made in the embodiments without departing from spirit, principles and scope of the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system, comprising: a temperature controller, configured to generate a first control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system; a mobile terminal, configured to generate a second control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system; and a conversion device, connected between the ducted air-conditioning system and the temperature controller, communicating with the mobile terminal via wireless communication, and configured to receive the first control instruction from the temperature controller, and transmit the first control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system, and to receive the second control instruction from the mobile terminal, convert the second control instruction into a third control instruction, and transmit the third control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion device comprises: a plurality of first wire terminals, each first wire terminal being connected with one of wire terminals of the ducted air-conditioning system; a plurality of second wire terminals, each second wire terminal being connected with one of wire terminals of the temperature controller; a monitoring module, connected with the plurality of second wire terminals and configured to monitor a state of each second wire terminal so as to receive the first control instruction; a wireless communication module, configured to receive the second control instruction; a transmission module, connected with the plurality of first wire terminals and configured to transmit the first control instruction or a third control instruction; and a control module, connected with the monitoring module, the wireless communication module and the transmission module respectively, and configured to control the transmission module to transmit the first control instruction when the monitoring module receives the first control instruction, to convert the second control instruction into the third control instruction when the wireless communication module receives the second control instruction, and to control the transmission module to transmit the third control instruction.
 3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the transmission module is further configured to detect a current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system, and the control module is further configured to control the wireless communication module to transmit a detection result from the transmission module to the mobile terminal.
 4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of first wire terminals and the plurality of second wire terminals comprise C, R, G, and Y/W terminals respectively.
 5. The system according to claim 2, wherein the wireless communication module and the mobile terminal are communicated via Wifi, Bluetooth or ZigBee.
 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the conversion device comprises a power supply module configured to convert a supply voltage supplied by the ducted air-conditioning system into an operating voltage compatible with the conversion device.
 7. A method for controlling a ducted air-conditioning system, comprising: generating by a temperature controller a first control instruction for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system; generating a second control instruction by a mobile terminal for controlling the ducted air-conditioning system; and receiving the first control instruction by a conversion device from the temperature controller and transmitting by the conversion device the first control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system, and receiving by the conversion device the second control instruction from the mobile terminal, converting by the conversion device the second control instruction into a third control instruction and transmitting by the conversion device the third control instruction to the ducted air-conditioning system.
 8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising detecting by the conversion device a current operating state of the ducted air-conditioning system and transmitting by the conversion device a detection result to the mobile terminal.
 9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the conversion device and the mobile terminal are communicated via wireless communication.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the conversion device and the mobile terminal are communicated via Wifi, Bluetooth or ZigBee.
 11. The method according to claim 7, wherein a power supply module in the conversion device converts a supply voltage supplied by the ducted air-conditioning system into an operating voltage compatible with the conversion device. 